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Assessment of Chronic Refractory Headache: The Role of the MMPI‐2
Author(s) -
Kurman Rochelle G.,
Hursey Karl G.,
Mathew Ninan T.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
headache: the journal of head and face pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.14
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1526-4610
pISSN - 0017-8748
DOI - 10.1111/j.1526-4610.1992.hed3209432.x
Subject(s) - minnesota multiphasic personality inventory , psychopathology , cluster headache , cluster (spacecraft) , medical diagnosis , medicine , clinical psychology , refractory (planetary science) , psychiatry , personality , psychology , migraine , pathology , social psychology , physics , astrobiology , computer science , programming language
SYNOPSIS We investigated the utility of the newly revised version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the MMPI‐2, for assessing psychopathology in three diagnostic headache groups, Post Traumatic, Status Migrainosus, and Status Migrainosus with Analgesic Rebound. We also investigated whether distinct clusters of headache sufferers could be identified using the MMPI‐2 clinical scales, and whether these clusters coincide with headache diagnosis. Eighty‐one patients in treatment at the Houston Headache Clinic were diagnosed and administered the MMPI‐2. Significant levels of psychopathology were found in all three diagnostic groups. Furthermore, Cluster Analysis identified three clusters of patients with equal proportions of patients from the three diagnostic groups. Cluster I patients were abnormally high on many MMPI‐2 clinical scales; Cluster 2 patients showed more moderate elevations, and Cluster 3 patients had essentially normal profiles. We concluded that the MMPI‐2 offers additional information not available through medical diagnosis alone. Thus, it is crucial to include psychological assessment in any comprehensive evaluation of chronic headache patients. Further implications for treatment planning and effectiveness are discussed.